Cagliari president Massimo Cellini eyes up move for West Ham United

The battle to take control of West Ham United took a dramatic twist on Wednesday night when Massimo Cellini, the president of Serie A club Cagliari, held talks with the bank charged with handling the sale of the Premier League club.

Waiting game: Gianfranco Zola knows Cagliari president Massimo Cellini and now wants a swift resolution to the West Ham ownership sagaPhoto: AFP/GETTY IMAGES

By Jason Burt

7:30AM GMT 14 Jan 2010

With Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes also expected in London on Wednesday night, it is now hoped that West Ham's future will become far clearer on Wednesday.

Cellini's intervention, however, has come from left field. It is understood he signed a non-disclosure agreement with Rothschild Bank after registering his interest, though he did not follow that up until this week.

He flew to London to present his proposals to Rothschild, who have spent the past few days in detailed discussions with Fernandes's representatives and with former Birmingham City co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold, who are also vying for control.

Fernandes, it is understood, remains the favourite. But, clearly, Cellini's late intervention cannot be discounted. He is believed to have been taken seriously by Rothschild and CB Holdings, the company that owns West Ham.

Given Gianfranco Zola ended his playing career at Cagliari, where he is revered after leading them back into Serie A, Cellini's move, if he were successful, would strengthen the Sardinian's hand.

Zola is also favoured by Fernandes, however, and the two have held talks. Above all, Zola is anxious for a resolution, especially with the clock ticking on the January transfer window and the need for reinforcements.

The Cellini family, who made their wealth through cereals and grain, have been in control of Cagliari since the early 1990s and have steadily built up the club. However, it is unclear what the financial structure of his bid is and exactly how wealthy Cellini, who spends much of his time living in Florida, is.

The 53 year-old was at Loftus Road on Tuesday as a guest of Flavio Briatore, and watched the FA Cup tie against Sheffield United.

His involvement – and that of Fernandes – would appear to be good news for Zola, technical director Gianluca Nani and the club's chief executive, Scott Duxbury.

A fourth party, the Intermarket Group, have claimed they are preferred bidders for West Ham but this has been met with scepticism by sources at Straumur, the bank which is the biggest shareholder in the company that owns the club.

West Ham will find out tomorrow what punishment they will receive after being found guilty of two Football Association charges of failing to control their supporters after violence in the Carling Cup tie at home to Millwall.

West Ham were cleared of two further charges with all three charges against Millwall were unproven. The club can expect a fine of around £100,000, possibly suspended.